Dillon Brooks and Jamal Murray are the perfect embodiment of all that is Canadian basketball right now.
A quiet confidence, steely determination, and a desire to succeed at the highest level are just some of the traits that the two NBA players exude. These two guys aren’t even 23 yet, but they’re not afraid to let it be known that they, along with the rest of Canadian basketball, are coming for more.
“We (Canadians) are on an upswing,” Brooks said on Sportsnet 650’s Reach Deep Wednesday. “Ever since I was in high school, it’s always been going up every year. There are kids that are getting better, there are more kids that are going to NCAA, playing in March Madness, you can turn on TBS and find a Canadian playing.
“We’re on an upswing and we’ve got players on top of players from every age group that can play for Team Canada and compete for a gold.”
Canada is the most well-represented nation in the NBA outside of the United States, and while Brooks had an impressive rookie campaign for the Memphis Grizzlies, Murray missed out on leading his Denver Nuggets to a playoff berth after a heartbreaking loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on the final day of the regular season.
It’s a long way from Kitchener, Ont., for Murray, who touched on his days growing up without much and how it helped him focus on his craft and become the player he is today.
“For me, growing up in Kitchener, didn’t have a phone, didn’t have internet, had a TV but didn’t have no cable,” Murray said. “When I came home from school it was just homework, basketball, eat, basketball, sleep, and then get ready to do it all over again.”
For Brooks, he drew inspiration from a camp conducted by former NBA player and Canadian Jamaal Magloire.
“He was close with my uncle and he was close with my family and stuff, knew a couple of my cousins,” Brooks recalled. “I got to go to the camp for free and a couple of my cousins went and that’s when I really, really wanted to play basketball.
“I had seen somebody who was here, close. Him, Steve Nash, all the other guys you don’t even know about, Denham Brown, and then I just wanted to achieve my dream of being in the NBA.”
Despite the clear attachment to their nation, the pair explained that it’s unlikely they participate for Team Canada in FIBA qualifiers to be held in September, with the NBA’s training camp and pre-season set to begin the same month. Both players were at the Richmond Oval in British Columbia for the Drive Basketball Camp for kids aged six to 16.
Listen to the rest of the interviews embedded in this post as the pair discuss what inspired them, the future of Canadian basketball, and young R.J. Barrett’s potential.
[relatedlinks]
